Meeting Again
by rugbybitch
Summary: Tristin comes back to Hartford. He meets Rory again. Short. Friendship. Bit cliche.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing for WB and its affiliates do, otherwise Tristin will still be on GG and Dean would never have existed.

**Pairing**: R/T eventually

**Rating**: PG for certain words and in other chapters.

**Summary**: Rory and Tristin meet again before the start of Year 12 (Senior Year)

**Spoiler**: Pretty much anything up to 'Runaway, Little Boy'

**A/N**: My first fanfic, therefore I am sorry if it is crap or someone else has written a story similar like mine. I don't know whether this will be it or whether I shall continue. Anyway, I am Australian. Therefore the story will have an Aussie approach. I'm going to try to focus the story on Tristin so please ignore any discrepancies as I am neither a guy nor am I filthy rich. Oh, and I've only seen up to the Star-crossed lovers and other strangers. Reviews appreciated.

It can't be you… 

**Chapter 1**

Parking his silver Mercedes-Benz next to a silver Audi A3, the six-foot, scruffy blonde haired, blue eyed seventeen year old observed the half filled expansive car park. Almost every second car was some car associated with the rich. It did not surprise him for he was in the more affluent part of town, though, he thought most would be abroad or even at the country club for it was a magnificent summer's day. 

Turning the engine off, he contemplated about going into the air-conditioned mall. He knew that, though still fairly early in the morning, he was sure to run into his old classmates. It was not that he did not wish to see them, but rather them seeing him and questioning his absence otherwise he would have gone to the country club. Frankly, he did not want to tell them the truth, though rumours were that he was sent to a boarding school in Australia. It was far from the truth but he did not care. Only one person knew the truth and he highly doubted that she cared.

Quickly, he emerged from his car and headed towards the double entrance of the mall. With his head down, hoping not to be seen, he quickly walked to his favourite store, Borders. He loved the store, for it contained so many books. He would often spend hours at the store, if he had nothing to do, but very few people knew about his love for the store.

Dressed in a blue-checkered button down shirt and blue walkshorts, he walked towards the store. He was surprised, yet relieved that no one had noticed him. He headed straight to the English Literature section, one of his favourite, and today, there was one thing he wanted to find, and buy. Reading had always been one of his favourite pastime but few knew of this. In the high society he lived in, it was not appropriate to be known for having a passion for reading as it was considered weak trait. It was acceptable to excel in sport and the social arena but academically it was almost the opposite. It was accepted to be smart, intelligent but not to be a bookworm. It was for this reason he hid this passion from his classmates and even his parents.

During his stint at a Military School in North Carolina, his father's so-called way of rehabilitation of his bad behaviour and punishment of attempting to blacken the family name, he reflected a great deal during his eleven years at Chilton, a prestigious preparatory school in Hartford. From day one, he stood out from the rest of the crowd. It made sense as was he was from one of the most influential families in Hartford. His classmates wanted to befriend him as that enhanced their social status, and later, girls wanted to date him so they could become popular. He never wanted to be part of the shallow crowd but there was nothing he could do for they were all shallow with the exception of a handful. From an early stage, he was shunned away from the world of love, where families would do all sorts of things with their children. Instead, he was introduced to the world of emotionless- never show your true feelings or else you are weak. From this latter world, he became the person he was. On the outer, he was brimming with confidence, knew what to do when it came to the opposite sex and appeared to be in control at all times. However, in the inner, he yearned to be love, to escape from the world of superficiality.

He had to admit, Chilton was not that bad, when compared to Military School anyway. He hated it at times, mainly due to the hostile environment. Students were wealthy and loved to compare their wealth with one another. They also preyed on gossip. They loved gossip. He knew most of the students there since kindergarten and to be perfectly honest, they eventually became boring. He wanted a challenge, someone who was different. Someone who chose to be individual rather than put up an act to fit into the crowd. Only one person chose to be an individual but he never had a chance to know her. He noticed her from afar but never took the opportunity to know her. For a few weeks, he considered themselves as friends but he screwed up. He always screwed up around those he truly wanted to befriend.

Military School, he thought, was hell. Chilton was hell on its worse days with an overly obsessive amount of homework, but was still better than Military School. At home, he did not have to do anything. Everything was done for him, but in a way, he was glad, thankful for Military School. It taught him to work for things and that nothing should be taken for granted. It showed him the world of commoners, of those who did not have as much money as him. Still, despite Military School changing him for the best, he still hated it.

Scanning the vast amounts of book, he finally found the section he wanted. Shakespeare. He enjoyed Shakespeare's work, particularly his plays. He did not have a favourite play because he liked them all the same but for different reasons. He had most of Shakespeare's works at home but he wanted to buy a special copy of one of the plays. A love tragedy. Sitting on the top shelve, he found it. Reaching his hand to grab his, he noticed someone else also wanted something from the top shelve. It was a female, slightly shorter than him with brown hair. Placing a hand on the book, the other person also touched it. 

Unwilling to let the book go, he pulled on it, despite his opponent reluctant to give it up. Turning to face her, he was ready to explain to her the importance of the book.

He gasped.

She looked shocked.

"Rory?" he whispered, unable to believe whom he was seeing in front of him.

"Tristin?" the brunette mumbled.

The copy of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet fell silently to floor as to two teenagers stood gaping at each other.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Thanks to all those who reviewed. I really don't want to continue on because I have no inspiration to write (even though I just watched the eppie where our two fav characters kissed and I am impatiently waiting for tonight's episode) but I just wanted to keep my sanity in case some reviewer tries to track me down and torture me until I put up another chapter. This is a really crap chapter. Please review.

It can't be you… 

**Chapter 2**

He stood there, staring at the figure, unable to comprehend the exquisite person in front of him. For many nights, weeks, months, he had dreamt, hoped that he would see her again. Now, all those dreams had finally become a reality. 

"You are real, aren't you? You're not some mirage, trying to send me to a mental institution, are you?" he asked her, breaking the silence.

She laughed. It was a laugh that made his heart break, a laugh that made him warm all over. "I'm real. I guess that confirms your nightmare."

He couldn't help it, but laugh. He loved the way they talked, the way they bantered. He missed it during his stint at Military School. "Well, what can I say, it's a good nightmare. Anyway, what are you doing here?"

"It's a bookstore, Tristin. Do I need to elaborate? Anyhow, shouldn't I be asking the question? What are you doing in Hartford?"

"Your individuality never ceases to surprise me. Anyway, I've been redeemed. That's why I am here."

"In a bookstore of all places. Torturing me. What happened to the country club? All the girls moved on to someone better?"

"Torture you? That would defeat the purpose of being a human rights activist."

"Funny Tristin. You, doing something worthy for the rest of society? That'll be the day when Paris decides she'd rather drop out of school than go to Harvard." Catching him off guard, she bent over and picked up the book that had been neglected since they started talking. "Ha ha. I win." She laughed, waving the book in the air.

"Not fair, _Mary_." He smirked, but seeing her face fall, he quickly said, "Coffee, _Rory_?"

"Coffee? Did I hear coffee?" he shook his head in disbelief, trying to suppress the laughs that were about to erupt. "Come on, Tristin, let's go. I'll tell you about this weird encounter I just experienced with the devil."

He followed after her, surprised at the way things were turning out. Initially he was scared about how she would react. He was scared that she would walk out on him. Hell, he wasn't even expecting her to give him a second look, after all, he had been the biggest jerk to her when she first came to Chilton. He still remembered quite clearly the first day she had came to the school. He had been late, for his beloved grandfather had been ill. He preyed on her innocence but after some time, he began to fall for her. She refused to be another notch in his belt. She refused all his advances. She frustrated him but it was her that he begun to discover him self. He changed for her yet she still refused him. He couldn't accept what she had offered him, friendship. He didn't want to be her friend. He wanted more. But he never got more.

"Are you coming or are you gonna just stand there? I'm sorry to tell you, Tristin, but there aren't any chicks who are gonna be interested in you here." She said, smirking at him, breaking his train of thoughts. He suddenly realised that whilst he was thinking about her, he had stopped walking.

"I never thought you'd be that eager to be alone with me, Rory." He smirked.

She didn't blush like he thought she would. "And the ego returns." She said, throwing her arms up in mock defeat. "The devil returns. He must really like you Tristin."

He smirked. She had changed. She used to blush whenever he said something with a sexual undertone. "Well, what can I say? I'm a very likeable person."

The two teenagers went to the counter and ordered their drinks before heading towards a vacated booth. "Right. You're a very likeable person. How can I forget that?" With a grin, she added, "I never knew you had homosexual tendencies. So that's why you hooked up with all those airheads. To cover up the truth about your sexuality."

"Hey!" He exclaimed, caught off guard. "Since when was the devil a guy?"

"That has always been the perception. Women are never evil."

"That would be right. It's always the men's fault."

"You said it yourself. I don't think the pretentious, egoistical male species will be impressed with your traitorous comments."

"I think your statement, 'Women are never evil', is being contradicted. You are becoming very evil, Rory."

"Oh, I'm never evil. I'm just the sweet, innocent, Mary." She shot him a glare.

"And I'm the devil." He said, relieved that their orders had arrived. "So, what are your plans for the rest of the day?"

"I'm probably gonna head home after this. Must cleanse myself after being stuck with the devil. Then I'm probably gonna hang out with Lane, my best friend. What about you?"

He was surprised that she had not said anything about her boyfriend, Dean the bag boy. He dared not to mention him for it was none of his business. "I don't know yet. Since you took my copy of the book, I guess I'm gonna have to search for another copy. Speaking of which, what happened with you and Paris. Is she really your Romeo now?"

"I am never going to forgive you for that. Aargh. I had to seek counselling after that horrid encounter. I think you should repay my mum for those outrageous medical bills." She said, grinning.

"Well, I'm sorry Rory. I'm sorry for being a jerk to you. I just… I just didn't know what to say, how to act around you. You're different from the rest of us. And I'm glad you were, because if it wasn't for you, I'd probably still be a jerk, an asshole, an egoistical and pretentious loser."

"Damn. I knew I should have brought my voice recorder. The famous words of Tristin Dugrey who finally admits he's an ass."

"Rory. I'm sorry. I just hope we can, perhaps, start again. Become friends?"

"Whoa. Serious stuff." She then paused for a while. "Does that mean you are coming back to Chilton for senior year?"

He shrugged. She was going hyper. It was coffee, he concluded. She had too much caffeine in her system. "Yes, I am. My father thought it would be a disgrace if I continued on at boot camp. Plus, I was doing really well there and I wanted to come back a lot, so he gave in."

"Well, that's great, I think. I know your groupies will be happy to see you again. And as for friends, I guess so, on a few conditions."

"You've had too much coffee."

"Shut up and listen. One, you must stop calling me Mary, and instead, call me Rory. Two, you must bring me coffee every morning. And three, well there's no three."

"Fine. Rory, you should cut down on your coffee."

"You know I was joking about coffee every morning, though I like the idea very much. And, oh. Condition number three, never tell me to cut down on my coffee!"

"Right. Calm down. We need to get you out of this place. Go and pay for your book and I'll pay for this."

"Uhm…no."

"Fine. Then I'll pay for the book and this."

"Tristin…."

"Rory…."

"Aargh. You're impossible."

"So I've been told."

After paying the bill, he went to find Rory, who had just finished paying for her book. He wanted to spend more time with her but he knew he shouldn't push things too far.

"So I guess, you're heading home." he said, disappointed that their time together was coming to an end. "Need a lift?"

"I guess I am. I've got my own car, but thanks anyway."

"I'll walk you to it."

"Nah, it's ok."

"It's on my way."

They walked together in silence, Rory walking a few steps in front of him. "You know I am capable of walking to my car, myself." She said to him after a while.

"I know. I'm just walking to my car."

"Don't tell me, but that silver Mercedes is yours." 

"And that Audi is yours?" he asked, stopping in front of the silver Audi A3.

"Yes." She said humbly.

"Wow." He said. "I didn't think you'd go for cars like this."

"I don't. Dean made me a car, but after my grandmother heard about our break-up, she insisted on buying me my own car. Except, she called it a, 'congratulations for surviving junior year so now here is a present'."

"Oh. Well, I'm sorry to hear about the break up."

"Well, I'm not. I guess we drifted apart and he was starting to get a bit boring. Anyway, I gotta go. It was nice seeing you again, Tristin."

"Yeah, it was nice seeing you again too. We've got a week before school starts. Perhaps we should get together some other time?"

"Yeah, that's be nice. You've got my number. Bye Tristin."

"See ya Rory."

He watched her drive away before getting into his own car. Who would have thought that by neglecting the country club, he would meet up with someone who knew him for who he was? Who would have believed, that given their history, they had just had a civil conversation? Certainly not him. Senior year was going to be an interesting year, he thought to himself.

**A/N: **I don't think this chapter was as good as the other. This one had too much conversation and less detail. Oh well. I think I'll add another chapter to finish this story off. But you'll have to wait for another week or more. Review please.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Ok, to be honest, I really cannot be bothered to continue writing this story (even though I say it all the time). I just don't want this to turn out into your typical clichéd story. So, I am going to try to do my best to steer myself away from that direction, despite the story itself being directionless because I tend to make the story up as I go and I tend to write the ending before writing the beginning and the body.

It can't be you… 

**Chapter 3**

He sat on his bed, contemplating whether to call her or not. He wanted to call her badly but he could not bring himself to do so. He was scared that she would hang up, or that he would utter something that could ultimately destroy their developing friendship. In other words, he feared rejection.

Like many occasions, he had contemplated calling her, only to have his conscious talking him out of doing so. He had never been this nervous when it came to girls. He could not say that he did not know why he was nervous because he did. Girls naturally appreciated him because of his wealth and good looks, but when it came to her, none of those factors matter. She did not care if he was good looking or if he was from some prominent family because unlike those girls, she did not have motives to ascend on the social ladder. The shallow social ranks meant nothing, for if it did, why did she work so hard to maintain her individuality?

***

The beginning of another school year was dawning. He did not know what was better, seeing her again or the fact it was to be his last year of school before heading off to college. He knew, however, what was the worst. His return would spark the rumour mill to operate on overload and his classmates would find ways to interrogate him about military school. Girls would suddenly become lost around him and the mandatory social obligations would return.

He left the house with a steaming cup of coffee from their cook, knowing that she would appreciate it. To his relief and surprise, his father had not interrogated him before leaving for school, explaining the acceptable behaviour and conduct for his first day back at school. 

He entered the Chilton gates, with a remotely familiar Audi behind him. Immediately, he knew who it was. Concentrating on finding his parking space, he was unaware that she was still following him. Parking into his parking space, he was shocked to see her park in the space next to his.

"Don't tell me, you have the parking space next to time." She said in disbelief, not even acknowledging his presence, as she got out of her car, facing him.

"What, _Mary_. No hello, no good mornings?" he replied with a smirk. "I'm appalled at your manners."

"Hey! I thought you agreed to cut the 'Mary' name." She retorted. "You never seem to answer my questions, do you?"

"Well," he said, pausing for a second, "I've always had parking space number five. You, on the other hand, as my memory serves me right, never had a parking space this near the school entrance. Call to elaborate?"

"Let's say, along with the 'surviving junior year present' my grandmother presented me, she also bought me this parking space, much to my mother's dismay. And mine." Rory explained shooting him a death glance.

"You wound me, _Mary_." He replied, clutching his heart in mock agony. "I guess the coffee will be mine."

Rory perked up, a smile slowly forming on her face. "Did I hear coffee? Gimme. It's part of the deal!"

He sighed, shaking his head the same time as he reluctantly handed over the coffee. "You're crazy."

"I haven't had coffee so shut up." She scowled, but grinning at the same time. "Anyway, why didn't you call? You said you'd call but you didn't. You know shouldn't make promises if you don't keep them. If you keep breaking promises then I guess you're not really worth being a friend. You're…."

"You talk too much, Rory." Tristin interrupted, smirking. "I never knew you wanted to spend time with me, someone who used to tease you so much."

"Well, you know I could do with a friend, a _real_ friend. I mean, Paris and I did work something up but we're only using each other to motivate ourselves, so we're not really friends."

"Well, I'm sorry that I didn't call. I just didn't know whether you'd really want to spent time with me, that's all." He apologised.

"Well, you should have called." She said. "Anyway, I better get to my locker. I'll see you around, I guess." She started walking back and with one final glance she said, "Welcome back Tristin."

He watched her walk into the school building, full of confidence. He had never seen her so confident in the intimidating school. Perhaps, he absence and Paris's partial friendship had gained her the confidence. Perhaps, his return and his offer of friendship helped her self esteem. Sighing, he grabbed his bag and walked into the school. He knew that all she would ever want from him was companionship, friendship. He knew she would never give him want he wanted, but for some reason, he did not feel too dismayed about it. Perhaps, having Rory as a friend would not be such a bad idea anyway. Rory was the only one who knew him for what he was, and he was grateful. He need not to put up the barriers that he had done for so many years. Rory Gilmore would only be his friend, and nothing more, unless she wanted more. Rory Gilmore was going to be his first genuine female friend. Rory Gilmore had changed him.

**A/N:** That's all. The end. This is the worst chapter ever. It went from ok to downright bad. No more from me. I've learnt my lesson. Never attempt writing a fic for people who will read it. Sorry. I know you all hated it. Be thankful that I never write again. Goodbye and have a good life.


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